A fisherman is no better than his knots. It is no good to own the best tackle and have an abundance of fishing knowledge and skill if, when fish are hooked, knots give way. The angler must therefore pay close attention to his knots. Under most conditions, an angler needs to know how to tie only a few knots, one being the clinch knot. The clinch knot is favored among fly fisherman for tying flies to leader tippets. To tie the clinch knot, the end of the leader is passed through the hook-eye of a fishing hook and the end brought back and wrapped, normally four to ten times, around the standing part of the leader to form an eye in the leader at the hook-eye. After passing the leader end through the eye, the standing part of the leader and the leader end are pulled to form a knot drawn tightly against the hook-eye.
An issued United States patent, U.S. Pat. No. 6,209,930, issued Apr. 3, 2001, incorporated herein by reference, describes tying a clinch knot wherein an end of a line is passed through a hook-eye of a fishing hook with the end held adjacent a standing part of the line. The patent describes improved apparatus for wrapping the end of the line around the standing part comprising a drive element with greater control and flexibility, mounted to rotate in response to exertion of a force and a clamp carried by the drive element for holding the hook.
Accordingly, it is a purpose of the present invention to provide improved apparatus for wrapping the end of the line around the standing part that includes greater adjustment and flexibility.